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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. field — for sport
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. bound — tied together
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — after costs
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — farmland
  11. fork — in a road
  12. net — for catching
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. net — in sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. board — a committee
  17. bound — certain
  18. band — a ring
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — a subject
  24. nail — on a finger

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com